It has now been three summers since I have been on top of a mountain or for that matter even been in a wilderness area. Frustrated is an understatement. I know, I know, patience is a virtue and all good things come to he who waits. Like so many aphorisms they are only half true, that is, you can almost always find one that says the polar opposite. Oh well, time-wise I am now closing in on the possibility of a new ankle which, if everything goes all right, will put me on top of a mountain by next summer.
In the meantime one does the best one can under the circumstances. Which for me means regular stretching and conditioning exercises with my favorite instructor, Sandy. It seems like she has been trying to shape me up for the last 38 plus years, but with only moderate success. That doesn’t stop her from trying. Patience is definitely one of her virtues. Of course, I have played an important role in developing that virtue, but then like the proverbial devil I don’t get a lot of credit for my supporting role. No one said life was fair.
Since climbing and hiking have had to be scraped from my summer pastimes, that has only left walking behind the lawn mower and bike riding as an escape to the great outdoors. One is of course a "chore" the other is life saving. I’ll leave it to the reader to try and figure out which is which.
Well maybe I won’t. After my mishaps with the torn ligament that took several months to heal, I was again able to slowly, very slowly, get back on my bike and begin to get my endurance and wind back. Only recently have I been able to push it, and it feels great. Over the past few weeks Sandy and I, and various family members, have spent time at Eagle Crest. During this time I was able to work out at the gym, swim and ride the paved bike trails. As good as that is, it is not the same as being out in the forest on a single track trail. While sitting around the townhouse I came across a brochure featuring hiking and biking trails in the Sisters area.
I decided to try a short 5.5 mile loop called Eagle Rock trail just south of Sisters on the way to Three Creeks Lake. While I was riding the trail, Sandy and Rusty hiked a portion of it. The trail for the most part has a slight climb to it as it meanders through tall Ponderosa Pine and along an irrigation stream that comes off of Broken Top mountain. The quiet of the forest was broken only by my deep breathing, and the ripple of the stream. It was another delicious ride that reinforced again my deep love of nature and my desire to see and experience what is around the next bend in the trail.
After my ride and Sandy’s hike, we retired to one of my favorite spots in the city of Sisters, the Sisters Coffee shop. Across the street is my second favorite place the Paulina Used Book Store. I had black liquid drugs (caffeine) straight up and Sandy had some foo-foo coffee, my term for coffee decaffeinated with flavoring added to "kill the taste" of the real stuff. We grabbed a table in the shade outside and watched the rest of the tourists, while sipping one of life’s small pleasures.
The following weekend Leighen brought his mom and dad over for a four day mini-vacation. Rod and I rode the Eagle Rock loop, while Leighen took grandma and mom on a leisurely walk (right Rog) up the steep sandy north slope of the southern most Cline butte above the Creekside town house.
On our ride, Rod and I, stopped alongside the stream and picked some orangish-red berries that looked similar to huckleberries but a little smaller. While picking, a lady came by and asked us if they were edible. I said I hoped so because we had both eaten some. Just to make sure we stopped at the range station in Sisters and asked. Yes indeed, they were edible, they are called Waxy Currents. The Native Americans in the area used them in the making of pemican, also used to stop the flow of diarrhea. A handy tidbit of information. The berries themselves are rather dry and tasteless. Oh well, if I ever have the need to make pemican or for its other use, I at least have the information stashed somewhere in one of the backwaters of my neuronal pathways.
The next day Rod and I decided to do the Peterson Ridge Trail. Leighen again took mom and grandma out for a hike, although he rode in a pack on his mom’s back. This time to the top of the northern most Cline Butte. Rod and I drive to Sisters. The trail head is the same as for the Eagle Rock loop. The first two miles of the trail follows the Eagle Rock loop, but then it crosses the irrigation stream and begins an uphill climb before it tops out at close to 800 ft above the valley floor. There was one short section, after having come up a fairly steep grade, that we dropped into a rocky dry creek bed, then up the other side. At this point the trail became very steep with more than an occasional rock out crop. I was in the lead, with Rod not far behind. I missed a down shift in gears and came to a quick stop, Rod veered around me but also had to stop, too steep. Off our bikes, we pushed ahead for several 100 ft before we were able to hop back on and continue upwards. At several points along the way we were able to get fantastic views of the Three Sisters, but none was as spectacular as when we crossed a forest service road that gave us an unobstructed vista of Middle and North Sisters. We paused and both said: "Here’s where we want to build a cabin." Yeah right, us and every other person that has ever been here.
As is usual we topped out all to soon. Here the trail splits into a short loop around a butte and then back down. Or, as one sign post said: Sisters Trail 1 mile. What to do? I had forgotten to bring the map but remembered that it said it was only half a mile out to the Three Creeks road. I figured as long as we were headed in a westerly direction we were bound to hit it eventually. Unfortunately the map hadn’t said that the road would turn to deep loose scree-like rock that required more work than the previous eight and a half miles. Hey, once your committed you can’t turn around, right? I mean how much further could it be, besides we are probably almost there. The previous eight and half miles had taken us 52 minutes, that last half mile (+) took over 15. Hey, we’re almost there, I can see a gate and a fence. The gate is of course is locked but we are able to climb over the fence and hand the bikes over. Whew! Time for a break and a few calories.
From here it is all down hill, about 6 miles worth, piece of cake, off we go. After about a half mile we pass a sign that says Sisters Trail, Peterson Ridge. Hey sometimes you just have to make a choice and go for it. Would have helped to have had the map. By now the road has become very steep, we pick up speed and are soon cruising faster than we can pedal in our lowest gear and still gaining speed. My speedometer reads out 25, 30, 35, 38, and then 40.2 which we maintain for over a mile. All concentration is now focused on the road, don’t dare swerve or even touch the brakes. As we begin to bottom out and our speed drops we both let out a shout that says: "Wow, what a rush, and we survived!" We are so adrenalin pumped by now that we are able to maintain a 20 mph plus speed for the last 3 miles back to the car, on an almost flat grade. The last quarter mile we slow to cool down. Reaching the car, we hop off our bikes and give each other a big sweaty hug, while at the same the time laughing, smiling and fists pumping the air. Times to remember. Does it get any better? I don’t think so, but then one never knows what’s around the next bend.
